A failed attempt at clones

Skoal

Well-Known Member
I attempted to take 4 Mazar clones a week ago and in a few days they died and never rooted. I have them under 2 - 25watt CFLs on a 16 hour light schedule. I just don't seem to see what im doing wrong.
 

Mr. Limpet

Well-Known Member
could you give up a little more info like what the medium was and were they under a dome saran wrap etc.
 

livesoul

Well-Known Member
We can't seem to see what your doing either....maybe to start you could explain what your doing?? :wall: bongsmilie
 

GlassFreak

Well-Known Member
but from what i DID get, you should have them on at least a 18/6 or probly a 24/0 till they root, and they root better under less intense light, they just need to know that they are still alive, the light lets them know. so back it off at least a foot or a foot and a half away. i have a solid white dome over my AG and they are doing great. just remember, they need humidity and dim light, the right dome will do the trick. and roots grow in the day cycle. and dont water them...
 

livesoul

Well-Known Member
but from what i DID get, you should have them on at least a 18/6 or probly a 24/0 till they root, and they root better under less intense light, they just need to know that they are still alive, the light lets them know. so back it off at least a foot or a foot and a half away. i have a solid white dome over my AG and they are doing great. just remember, they need humidity and dim light, the right dome will do the trick. and roots grow in the day cycle.
Yeah that for sure. I typically run my lights 24 hours. Some recommend a 6 hour dark period immediately after cloning to reduce the stress but I never found it to make a difference. In fact I think I do better with no dark period.
 

Skoal

Well-Known Member
With my clippins I put them into small containers in a tray. I do not have a dome or anything ontop of them. I use the 2 CFLS with a small reflector. From that I generally spray the leaves as well as the soil to keep it moist. As for the medium is just regular potting soil/seed starter.
 

GlassFreak

Well-Known Member
they should... if you do it right and dont get air in the stem there really is a minute amount of good the 6 hours dark can do. but if you can only get ike 18/6 its totaly fine... i wouldnt go lower tho...
 

Skoal

Well-Known Member
what do u mean by getting air in the stem? I usually spray the stem, then cut down the middle and put rooting gel on it. I also trip off some of the leaves and clip some smaller, generally leaving the top leaves alone.
 

GlassFreak

Well-Known Member
nope man, im tellin you a dome would turn those babys around! ill show you what my dome did for me just today!

pic 1, 3 clones after 12 hours in my AG3 without a dome, wilty, saggy, dying but far from dead!
pic 2, my AG3 with the bucket im using as a dome on it.
pic 3, the same 3 clones 2.5 hours after putting the make shift dome over them, lookin healthy, if this keeps up theyll root for sure!
 

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GlassFreak

Well-Known Member
what do u mean by getting air in the stem? I usually spray the stem, then cut down the middle and put rooting gel on it. I also trip off some of the leaves and clip some smaller, generally leaving the top leaves alone.
sometimes people take alot of cuttings, and sometimes they dont spray them or put them in water while theyre cutting more, the cuttings will still suck up the moisture in the end of the stem, if it dries out too much you will have air in the stem, they wont root at all, you can fix this by just cutting the end off the stem again... but when you take 100 cuttings at a time like some people its hard to keep track...
 

Skoal

Well-Known Member
I have a dome, like a little propogation thing, but i find that my clippins are too tall to put the dome on top. What other things could i use to replicate a dome?
 

Kingb420

Well-Known Member
i lost my first batch in rockwool due to under watering them... im using peat pellets now hopefully it helps me
 

GlassFreak

Well-Known Member
I have a dome, like a little propogation thing, but i find that my clippins are too tall to put the dome on top. What other things could i use to replicate a dome?
i dont use any propogation things, i find that ziplock has many tuperware containers that work idealy! check out walmart.
 

GlassFreak

Well-Known Member
i lost my first batch in rockwool due to under watering them... im using peat pellets now hopefully it helps me
peat is way better than rockwool in my opinion, rockwool is always under or overwatering, takes some skill to do it right all the time. with the peat if it is delayd it is because its too wet, they have to start drying out befor the clone will start to root. so dont water it.
 

Skoal

Well-Known Member
So today I did some good work in the garden and I decided to try out taking some different clones. Rather than snipping off of my Mazar, I went for 2 Wild Berry and 4 NL5 clones. Here are the pictures in the dome and underneath the light.
 

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livesoul

Well-Known Member
Hey man, hope you don't mind but i'm going to post the method i've been using, its worked great. I didn't come up with any of it, just been info and advice i've learned from reading and this site. Let me know if you have any questions. Hope it helps, peace.

1. Identify branches to clone off of...first i'm looking towards the top branches because they contain more growth hormones than the lower branches, and this helps in root generation. I also make sure that the nodes on the branches indicate its a mature stem. So if the two nodes appear exactly opposite of each other its not mature, they should be spread out. One node on the left and then the next one up comes out opposite. Then I'm clippin them using a sharp steralized scissor just above a node and making sure at least 3 nodes appear above it.

I sterilize my scissors and blade by dipping a paper towel in H202 at 3%. Just wipe the blades and rinse with water. H202 is Hydrogene Peroxide, a bottle is less than $1 almost anywhere.

2. I then use an exacto blade and cut a 45 degree cut about 1/4 inch below the first node. I lightly scrape from the node down to break down the skin a little. With the blade i also cut off any other branches except for the top one's of course. I cut the leaves to half and i dip the stem in water and swirl it for a couple in hopes of getting any air bubbles off the stem bottom. The apparent reason that leaves are trimmed in half is to reduce the transpiration of the plant. Since they have no roots they will absorb water through their leaves. Its also where they lose their water. Trimming in half reduces the area it can lose water. Makes sense but i don't know if its necessary if you can control the humidity, such as in a dome.

3. At this point I pack the peace pipe and take a hit or two. bongsmilie

4. I dip the clones into my rooting gel and put them into my rockwool cubes. I've had much better luck with Rapid Rooters cubes than the plain rockwool. You also don't need to soak rapid rooters in PH balanced water for 12-24 hours prior like you do with the plain rockwool. Also, put the rooting gel your going to use into a separate container. Dipping the stems into your main rooting gel container can contaminate it with things. And put your gel in the fridge when not in use.

FYI: You know the generic rapid rooters? The kind that looks just like rapid rooters but comes basically in a zip block bag, has no label, and is way cheaper. Its just as good.:blsmoke:

5. Also, I make sure when i put my stem into the rockwool that the hole is tight around the stem. I usually don't use the premade hole because its too large for the clone stems sometimes. I'll use a toothpick and poke through and make another hole. I then mist the leaves, i also misted the rockwool cubes a little.

6. Once they are ready i put them into my clone dome. A green house dome, like $20 at a hydro shop, The light is like $35 bucks, and the heat pad you should get is $35 as well.

I will say you can do this way cheaper than that. Walmart has the domes for much cheaper i believe. You can buy any flourescent light or even use a couple compact flourescents. And you can put your dome on top of any heat source. As long as it isn't too hot. Usually people recommend a DVD player or stereo.

7. I'll mist the inside of the dome and the plants once in the morning and thats it. In the evening i'll vent it for awhile. I won't have any water in the bottom of the tray. I don't want the cubes to absorb it and become too damp and rot the roots. Just make sure the cubes don't look dry, they should look moist.

Thats it, I struggled doing it a couple other ways. But with everyones help on this site this has worked out excellent for me. I start to see roots after 7-10 days.

I usually wait till the roots get nice and long before i transfer them, usually takes no more than 14 days. Also, towards day 10 or so I do put water at the bottom of the tray, enough so that it is just touching the cubes and I add nutes. I use Floranova Grow series at 300ppm. Then they'll go straight into the flowering area at 1400ppm. :leaf::hump:

Cleanliness is important, i forgot to mention i was non latex throwaway gloves, a pack of 50 was $3 at walmart. Clean cutting board, sterilized blades and your good. H202 3% is all you need, thats strong enough. And be sure to wipe/rinse with water after. The H202 shouldn't directly touch a stem.
 

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Skoal

Well-Known Member
Livesoul I have pretty much used the same process as you provided above to take my clones from yesturday. I just woke up today to take a look, my first time putting into a dome and it seems to be working pretty well. Clones are still appearing strong and not weak. Once these clones take and if they do, I am thinking about providing a grow journal with tons of pics. It may contain just wild berry or NL5, or a mix of the two.
 
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